We reached out to Andy to learn more about the inspiration behind his whimsical creatures, the stories in his messages, and what drives his creative process. The artist shared that he's always drawn "weird stuff," especially during school when he probably should’ve been paying attention. "I drew a beta version of my frog character, Freg, one day, and it looked so stupid, I kept drawing it and refining it over time. I like pillbugs and always find them in my house, so I wanted to draw them too."
According to Andy, he usually has no idea what he wants to say when he starts drawing—it just unfolds as he goes. "Stuff just pops into my head while I'm doodling. It doesn't take long to draw so I just make stuff up and throw it out there and go screw it, that'll do."
The artist draws everything with pen and ink first, then snaps a photo and uses his phone to edit, coloring it in with his finger using a photo editor. "That's high tech for me, I think I'd cry if I were made to use Photoshop or something, I'd be so lost."
For Andy, it’s just really nice to get any kind of feedback on his work. "People have tattoos of my drawings, which is really bizarre but cool," he says. "Some people find my kind of introspective pictures helpful and DM me about it, and sometimes we talk and I try to help them work through their problems, that's happened a few times with a wide range of people. I think that's the most rewarding part about Instagram stuff."
